August 5, 2021

08:08

Cassandra Castro – from Cenarium

BRASILIA (DF) – The Federal Justice has convicted the National Mining Agency (ANM) to refuse all requests related to the research or extraction of minerals on indigenous lands in the State of Amazonas. The decision also includes requirements related to mining. The court decision is the result of a public civil action filed in 2019 by the Federal Public Ministry (MPF). The ANM has a period of 45 days, counting from the time it becomes formally aware of the sentence, to comply with the determination.

All mining requirements incident on Indigenous Lands with demarcation processes completed in the State of Amazonas must be dismissed, including those filed after the filing of the public civil action.

According to the lawsuit, the agency had been failing to analyze the requests for research and mineral exploration on indigenous lands, keeping them paralyzed, while the Federal Constitution prohibits this type of request. In the ruling, the Justice confirmed the understanding of the MPF, considering this practice unconstitutional and illegal. According to information gathered by the WWW-Brazil NGO from the databases of the ANM itself, the National Indian Foundation (FUNAI) and the Ministry of Environment, there were more than 4,000 requests for mining titles over Indigenous Lands in the Legal Amazon in progress.

Also according to the survey, the Indigenous Lands (TI) most affected in the Amazon are the High Rio Negro TI, with applications over an area exceeding 174,000 hectares, and the Middle Rio Negro 1 TI, with applications over an area exceeding 100,000 hectares. “In these protected areas, the pressures are exerted mainly for gold and tantalite mining, with titles applied for by legal entities and individuals, including cooperatives of miners,” said the MPF in the public civil action.